08 - Darryl Curran, Ghosts

Darryl Curran
American, b. 1935

Ghosts
1976
Van dyke print
Gift of the artist and The Museum Project, NEHMA
2016.20

 

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This photograph, titled Ghosts by Darryl Curran utilizes a variety of photographic techniques to create a surreal scene. An experimental photographer of his time, Darryl Curran was a significant participant for pushing photography forward as a fine art form in the 1960s and 1970s. The layers and juxtapositions seen in this photograph are characteristic techniques Curran used to tell his photographic stories.

Curran joined the California State University Fullerton faculty in 1967 and initiated the Creative Photography B.A. and M.A. programs and co-authored the M.F.A. curriculum. He served as Department Chair from 1989-1999 and retired in 2001.

While being interviewed by former student, J.K. Levin for Lenscratch: Fine Art Photography Daily in 2019, Curran stated: “Teaching the art of photography is an art in itself. One must be prepared, be open minded, be observant and strive to excel constantly. I tried to put myself in the shoes of the students so that I could provide useful advice. I hope that that strategy worked. On the receiving end of that, I often got help in solving one of my own visual or conceptual problems through discussion, looking at negatives on a light table or commenting on prints coming out of the drier. Sometimes an idea would emerge based on a simple idea or image or joke.”